autumn

<div class="at-above-post-homepage addthis_tool" data-url="https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/reviews/looking-acting-ali-smiths-autumn/"></div><p>By <a href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/contributor/milo-hicks/">Milo Hicks</a></p>
<p>Reading a new Ali Smith novel always feels like returning to a familiar place. There is the usual smattering of quotes that mark the opening of each work, laid out like a welcome mat at the door. She always uses a single word — “past,” “beginning,” “I,” “there,” “one,” “1” — to open the first section of every one of her novels, a gentle reminder that every story is the bringing together of disparate parts. And then there is her undeniable voice that agitates and soothes in the same stroke, unbearably light and effortlessly heavy. <em>Autumn</em>, her most recent novel, is no exception, and it’s homier than ever. Underneath the new window coverings and re-arranged furniture are the same authorial concerns: time, art, and storytelling. Yet the familiar places of her novels never come across as worn or tired because they welcome such a diversity of characters. Smith knows that “whoever makes up the story makes up the world,” and advises us to “always try to welcome people into the home of your story.” This advice, which is one of <em>Autumn</em>’s foremost concerns, is lived out in every home she builds. <a href="https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/reviews/looking-acting-ali-smiths-autumn/#more-3248" class="more-link">Read more</a></p>
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Looking and Acting: On Ali Smith’s <em>Autumn</em>

Looking and Acting: On Ali Smith’s Autumn

Milo Hicks is a master's student in English Literature at McGill University.